Not really. The speakers are paid for their time and get a free meal. But those in the audience get a free meal, which you can't bring a non-medical person to, and which most doctors could easily afford on their own.
Medical students and residents will attend these, because they can't afford to eat those meals.
Now, the device industry... that does not operate under the PhRMA rules.
The one drug I've ever given a talk for (sugammadex, trade name Bridion) is an excellent drug that has a unique mechanism of action for which there is absolutely no equally-efficacious substitute. It is expensive, at around $90 a vial cost to the hospital, but it can and has prevented overnight ICU stays that would have cost the hospital far more. I was a big fan of the drug even before it was released in the US, so I didn't need a bribe to do the talk. But if they're going to pay someone, I saw no reason it shouldn't be me. I didn't say anything I didn't already believe.
Medical students and residents will attend these, because they can't afford to eat those meals.
Now, the device industry... that does not operate under the PhRMA rules.
The one drug I've ever given a talk for (sugammadex, trade name Bridion) is an excellent drug that has a unique mechanism of action for which there is absolutely no equally-efficacious substitute. It is expensive, at around $90 a vial cost to the hospital, but it can and has prevented overnight ICU stays that would have cost the hospital far more. I was a big fan of the drug even before it was released in the US, so I didn't need a bribe to do the talk. But if they're going to pay someone, I saw no reason it shouldn't be me. I didn't say anything I didn't already believe.